A/N: I am very sorry for the lateness of my update but I have been literally inundated with coursework. I have had some reviews asking me about the fact that I paired Theodore Nott with Astoria and Romilda, I am very sorry I promise it won't happen again but it doesn't have any significance to the plot so I hope you guys will forgive me. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Hermione's POV
The realisation of what had just been said hit me; I was going to be living with him, alone, for nine months! My fingers tugged roughly at my tie trying to cool myself down. I was going to have to share a bed with Draco Malfoy for nine whole months? I swallowed in a desperate attempt to get rid of the horrible taste that had formed in my mouth.
My eyes strained as I forced them to remain on the surface of the table and not wander over toward Draco. I needed to calm down and get away from the harsh blend of sound pounding through my ears as the eighth years protested.
Swiftly, I unhooked my legs from the bench and without a single glance towards Draco I hurriedly made my way towards the large oak doors at the end of the candlelit room.
"Hermione where are you going? We have Transfiguration!"
Ginny called out after me but for once in my life I didn't care whether or not I missed class I needed to get away. Just for an hour or so.
A dull pain penetrated the backs of my legs as I ran up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower. My breath was uneven and taxing as I hurtled up the long winding corridor that led to the portrait hole.
My thick curls bounced from side to side as I came to an abrupt halt before the Fat Lady. Her bejewelled fingers glistening in the dim light of the candles and a look of fascination adorned her plump-looking features.
"Password?"
Once my breathing had evened out I straightened myself up and gave her the password,
"Pumpkin juice."
I waited expectantly for the door to swing open and the inevitable nod of the Fat Lady, her many chins being swallowed by her neck.
"Incorrect?"
Bewildered and slightly confused at her rejection I scanned my mind for the right password. No, that was the password it hadn't been changed since yesterday.
"Pumpkin juice!"
I said rather irritably expecting her to open for me this time but she merely shook her head.
"What?"
Her features twisted into a stern expression.
"I'm afraid one of the professors changed the password this morning."
This had to be some kind of joke they hadn't really banned us from our dormitories already, had they? How would I even get my things out of there if they wouldn't let us back in?
"You know I'm a Gryffindor I've been passing through here for the best part of ten years could you at least let me in so I could get my things?"
My voice was pleading and desperate as I prayed for her to oblige.
"If you are an eighth year all your possessions have been relocated to your new accommodation so there will be no need for that."
My eyes blazed acid as I glared at her for her lack of cooperation. I was going to have to go back to the apartment.
I plodded reluctantly back the way I had come towards the other side of the vast castle sighing every now and then. My mind began to wander as I grew bored of the endless corridors and flights of stairs.
Why was I dreading living with him so much? He had behaved like a completely different person over these last few days, I barely recognised him anymore. I pondered over that thought apprehensively as reason kicked in, years of torment and insults couldn't be forgotten on the basis of a few days of courtesy and kind words. Although it has been a lot more than kind words hasn't it? You know you're beginning to feel something more than hatred for him. Maybe you're just afraid that if you spend every single night together something will happen.
I let the small voice in the back of my mind continue for longer than normal as I made my way towards the portrait hole. Surely not! There was no way I had any feelings other than hatred to bestow on the likes of Draco Malfoy. I didn't need the small voice in the back of my head to tell me that was a lie, I already knew.
My voice was low and barely audible as I muttered the password and stormed in through the open portrait hole. The sound of my hurried footsteps thundered up the stairs as I rushed toward the bedroom. Sure enough all of my things had been placed at the end of the bed, next to his.
I walked over to the leather trunks and the boxes of books dreading the thought of basically unpacking my entire life in the room that I would be sharing with Draco.
My tired form collapsed next to the pile of luggage and I reluctantly unbuckled the metal fastenings on the first trunk. All of my clothes were neatly folded in even stacks inside the case and books were crammed in every vacant space between the piles of clothes.
My fingers ran over the tattered spines of the books fondly as I examined the contents of the suitcase. It was hard to believe that my whole life at Hogwarts had been crammed into two trunks, a small weekend back and a few boxes.
I closed the lid of the first trunk and refastened the brazen buckles before opening the second one to examine its contents.
There weren't so many clothes in this case seeing as it was mainly devoted to toiletries and towels. My eyes checked through the items making sure everything was there when I spotted something I really didn't want to see. There was a small box of tampons tucked away in the corner of the case. I snorted in disgust at the very idea of having them now. Feeling rather angry at myself I grabbed the small box and chucked them into the bin aggressively.
My brow was furrowed in frustration as I gazed down at my stomach. I hadn't really let the whole pregnancy thing occupy my mind that much, I felt the same, I looked the same but yet soon I was going to be so different.
I let my hand settle over my stomach for a mere moment before pulling away, the whole thing was just way too weird.
The focus of my attention veered away from everything else when I noticed a small photograph, tucked in between two rather unattractive jumpers. I pulled the photograph out from its original place of residence and stared at the small children that occupied the piece of paper.
Harry, Ron and I were standing in the snowy streets of Hogsmede, arm in arm and grinning happily. My thumb traced over the picture fondly as I remembered all the happy memories we had shared. Everything seemed so different now. We were all growing up and the things I worried about then were nothing compared to the things I was worrying about now.
I wonder what I would have told my 13 year old self if I had the chance to go back and warn her. At that age I probably would've found it the most absurd thing in the world and laughed it off as nothing. I would've found the idea of having a baby with Draco Malfoy absolutely disgusting.
My gaze fell upon the unmistakable red hair of Ron and my mouth twisted into an almost smile. I had to remind myself that we didn't even speak to each other anymore. I placed the photograph back where I had found it, finding the all consuming waves of nostalgia to be too much.
A resounding crash broke the eerie silence of the room as I slammed the trunk closed. Not being altogether uplifted by its contents.
The gradual ticking of the clock caught my attention for a moment and I looked over at the antique face. I had missed half of my first lesson and there was no way I was going to enter a class late. I might as well wait up here until my second lesson started.
Draco's POV
I contemplated going after her but then thought better of it and headed off to my first lesson. Everyone filed into the classroom and took their seats as I went and sat next to Blaise, in my usual place at the back of the classroom.
I noticed Pansy glaring at Blaise from the opposite side of the room as he drawled flirtatiously to a blonde Ravenclaw girl sitting in the adjacent desk. I couldn't help but smile.
I dumped my bag on the floor and pulled out my books, placing them languidly on the battered wooden surface. Blaise subsequently concluded his conversation with the girl and Pansy averted her searing gaze.
"Having fun?"
His mouth twisted into a knowing smirk and he folded his arms casually.
"Just a bit."
His suggestive baritone implying more than just fun.
Momentarily Professor McGonagall entered the crowded classroom, her emerald robes billowing out behind her. She stood at the front of the classroom and called out the list of names on the register.
My attention wandered as her stern voice rang out through the room.
"Hermione Granger."
She waited for what she thought would be the inevitable response of Hermione but it never came. Her piercing eyes scanned the room interrogatingly as she searched for her.
"Has anyone seen Miss Granger?"
Confused heads shook in answer to her question and I noticed the Weasley girl look over at Potter.
"Anyone?"
McGonagall asked bewildered.
Then the Weasley girl raised her hand apprehensively.
"I saw her this morning at breakfast but...then she left, I think it may have had something to do with the recent announcement."
Realisation sunk into McGonagall's weathered face and she cast Hermione's absence off as nothing.
Blaise nudged me out of my dazed stupor and I was brought back to reality.
"What's happening with you and Granger anyway?"
His signature smirk playing on his lips again.
"Nothing much…"
I trailed off uneasily as the lie rolled off my tongue.
"I would've paid good money to see the look on her face when McGonagall said that we had to move in with our partners."
I forced a reluctant smile onto my lips in response to his comment and began to scribble down the passage of dictation McGonagall was reciting.
The rest of the lesson proved uneventful and tedious, so when the bell rang I was out of the room like a bullet.
She should be in the next lesson, if not I should probably go and look for her. I was quite shocked by the amount of concern I was bestowing upon her but I found that I couldn't help it, I cared about her I was just going to have to accept it. I mean she is carrying my child.
I knew she was supposed to be in my next class so I made my way down the corridor towards the classroom.
The door creaked noisily as I pushed it open and stepped into the coldness of the room. I was about 5 minutes early. After closing the door I turned around to dump the weight of my bag on a nearby desk but stopped when I saw something, someone.
Hermione was standing at the other end of the room with her hands clasped tightly around her waist and a rather startled expression dominating features.
"I didn't know you were in here."
I whispered hesitantly not really knowing what to expect. What should I do? Should I ask her if she's alright? Shit! I don't know.
She looked so small and vulnerable standing there I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. This couldn't just be about the whole 'living together thing'.
"I'll wait outside."
Her tone was broken and soft as she made her way to the door. Why was she acting like this? She couldn't avoid me forever.
"Wait!"
My hand clasped around her wrist before she reached the door and she swung around to look at me.
"What?"
Her voice was not harsh but laced with a slight air of disconcertion.
"Are you ok?"
I couldn't really believe I had just conveyed sympathy for Hermione Granger. Strange things were happening.
"No I'm not!"
She sounded slightly more aggressive now and she tried to pull away from me, her meagre attempt proved useless against my unyielding grip.
"I was just trying to be polite."
I tried to make the whole conversation a little less personal. She was getting slightly annoying now.
"Well you've never bothered before so there's no need for you to start now!"
I shook her wrist from my grasp and my eyes turned darker in response to her retaliation. Why was she getting so defensive I hadn't been rude or arrogant or any of the things I normally was? She was scowling at me through her long dark lashes.
"You can be a right moody cow sometimes, you know that?"
Her usually warm chocolate orbs emanated poison as she glowered at me.
"Well you happen to be an egotistical asshole!"
She retorted angrily her alabaster cheeks now infused with a ruby blush. She was so bloody annoying!
The dull murmur of the approaching students grew into shouts and loud voices and she barged past me aggressively making her way back to her original seat.
The door burst open and everyone filed in talking noisily amongst themselves. The lesson went by rather quickly in comparison to Transfiguration but the tension between me and Hermione could be cut with a knife.
At the end of class Hermione stormed out of the room knocking past me for a second time.
The rest of the day went by painfully slowly but I didn't run into Hermione again until later that evening.
We were both in the apartment, I was in the bedroom and Hermione had just gone into the bathroom to have a shower.
I slung various items of clothing from my trunk into the mahogany wardrobe on the other side of the room. I noticed that Hermione hadn't even begun to unpack and both of her trunks were still sitting at the end of the bed.
A few minutes later I came across a shirt that still had the tag on it so I quickly ripped it off and walked over to the bin to dispose of it.
As I let go of the small piece of card my eyes fell upon what was already in the bin. There was what looked like an empty… box of… tampons. I stared at the contents of the bin uneasily. That wasn't there earlier.
I twisted uncomfortably on the spot expecting Hermione to enter the room at any moment, now that the thundering sound of the water had come to a halt.
My mind began to run wild as an endless vortex of possibilities consumed any trace of rational thought. She was really mad at me at the moment and she had that fall a few days ago. What if something had happened that she wasn't telling me about, what if she had lost the baby? Maybe that's why she has been so upset!
I mean she really had fallen quite a long way. What if it had been more serious than Madame Pomfery had thought? There was no way I could bring it up though; I could not have a conversation with Hermione, about…well …what I had just found in the bin.
First of all she would probably die of embarrassment and then go absolutely berserk not to mention slaughter me alive. I know we aren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment but surely she would tell me if something actually had happened, wouldn't she?
My feet twisted around when the bathroom door opened and Hermione walked in with a towel secured around her arms. She purposefully avoided eye contact with me as she retrieved some small bed shorts and a short sleeved top from her trunk and went back into the bathroom without a word.
Once the door was closed I started to freak out again. My breathing became slightly laboured as I paced up and down the room nervously.
After a few moments of contemplation I decided it would be best if I slept on it and thought about it again in the morning. I was probably just overreacting.
I changed out of my clothes quickly and got into bed, facing away from the bathroom door that Hermione would emerge from in a few minutes.
Sure enough Hermione re-entered the bedroom and slipped into the bed remaining as far away from me as she possibly could. Not that I had any objection, she was being extremely aggravating at the moment.
The lights went off and every sound was eradicated from the room except for the wind banging gently against the glass windows. The silence leaving me to think.
I knew Hermione and I weren't exactly on good terms at the moment but I don't think she would something like that. She was just as worried as I was when she had fallen over and had to go to the hospital wing, I could tell. There could be any number of reasons that they were in the bin. Crap this is so bloody messed up!
With my mind still battling away I slowly drifted off to sleep.
I woke up the next day to find Hermione already up, sitting on the sofa downstairs. She was being extremely childish at the moment with all the 'not talking' and 'ignoring'. Not that I had a problem with it. When she was behaving like this she could not talk to me all she wanted and avoid me as much as possible.
As I went back into the bedroom to get dressed I remembered why I was feeling so anxious. The very idea of even bringing it up with her was beyond mortifying, it was insane.
Besides it wouldn't just be embarrassing for her, I would probably die in the process. My eyes darted over to the bin but oddly enough there wasn't anything in it anymore apart from the small clothes tag I had dropped in there the other day.
"Shit…"
I raked my hand through my tousled hair and groaned in frustration. Just then I heard the portrait hole swing shut. Hermione had left.
I didn't know whether I was relieved that I didn't have to say anything to her now or annoyed because I now had time to contemplate the scenario in my head.
Hermione's POV
Annoyance was the only thing I was feeling at the moment. Annoyed at the fact that I had to live with a complete and utter asshole, annoyed that at this very moment I was carrying his devil spawn. Could life get any worse?
Yesterday evening we hadn't spoken a word to each other, which was probably for the best because we probably would have ended up ripping each other's throats out.
I reluctantly plodded through the portrait hole and into the small common room to find a rather unexpected spectacle before me.
Draco was standing in the middle of the room looking extremely nervous and apprehensive. I hadn't ever really seen him like that before.
"What's up with you?"
I asked, keeping my tone slightly careless to let him know that I was still angry with him.
"Um… I have to ask… well talk to you about something."
My bag slid off my shoulder and I glared at him disapprovingly. He had probably done something wrong.
"Go on then."
I was in a bad mood already I didn't need him to add to it.
"I found something…"
He raked his hand through his tousled blond hair his grey eyes pools of mercury as they smouldered under the warm candlelight. Stop going all dreamy over him you're supposed to be mad at him!
"Yes?"
Motioning for him to continue suggesting that I was becoming slightly impatient. He sighed and began pacing up and down the length of the room.
"Look, I have homework to do so if this is everything I'll be…"
"Ok, ok…"
I was getting annoyed again what was this all about anyway?
"I found, well saw something…"
He trailed off again his voice laced with apprehension.
"In…in the…bin, upstairs, in the bedroom."
My eyes widened for a moment, what was he trying to say? He noticed my surprise and swallowed heavily.
"It's just you've been really upset lately and it can't just be because of the whole living together thing and you had that accident when you fell over… I know we're not on great terms at the moment so I wasn't sure if you would tell me or not."
"Draco?"
"Yes?"
"What the hell are talking about?"
My mind raked through all the possibilities and explanations for this strange outburst. Draco looked very disappointed at the fact that I hadn't deciphered what could only be described as an impossible code.
"I saw something, in the bin upstairs, in the bedroom. You've been really moody and angry and upset, so I thought maybe you'd…"
"Look Draco I know you have an aptitude for expensive things but I really don't care what you spend your money on."
His brow furrowed in confusion and his chiselled face mirrored the expression that had adorned my features only moments before.
"Hang on, what are you talking about?"
"The clothes label, what are you talking about?"
"The tamp…"
He broke off mid-word and I finally understood what he was trying to say.
"You mean you thought that…?"
He nodded nervously and I couldn't help it, I couldn't contain my laughter. My sides were hurting I was laughing so hard. I needed cheering up and this had really done it.
"What?"
His voice sounded slightly cross as he watched me in my hysterics. He looked so embarrassed before and as I remembered his nervous state another wave of laughter washed through me.
"Oh Draco, you big idiot!"
"Shut up…"
He did not sound angry or annoyed but just embarrassed by his far from accurate assumption.
"You were really nervous weren't you?"
Humour dominated my tone as I thought about Draco panicking all day about having to say the word 'tampons'.
"Look I just thought…"
My palm glided across my forehead as I attempted to calm myself down, but to no avail.
"Stop! I need a moment to enjoy the hilarity of this particular moment in my life."
I broke off before I continued and watched as Draco folded his arms across his muscular chest and raised his eyebrows as he waited for my prolonged amusement to conclude.
"I can't believe you actually thought I had lost the baby and I had decided not to tell you because you were being an asshole. Well, arebeing an asshole."
I turned away from him and dabbed the tears of mirth in the corners of my eyes away with my sleeve. Suddenly strong arms were encircling my waist and I was being pulled against Draco's rock hard torso.
"Stop laughing at me and don't call me an asshole."
He nipped at my ear playfully.
"I will when you stop being one."
I retorted tenaciously thinking about whether I should pull away or not.
"Don't think I won't punish you."
He whispered seductively in my ear making me quiver slightly.
"Don't you think carrying your devil spawn is enough of a punishment?"
He pulled me even tighter against him and then suddenly let me go again.
"I'm going to bed, you coming?"
I nodded and followed him up the stairs to the large door at the end of the corridor. I veered off towards the bathroom and Draco went into the bedroom.
I laughed quietly as I brushed my teeth and changed out of my school uniform. I slipped back into the bedroom just as Draco entered the bathroom.
Shivering slightly as I tiptoed over to the edge of the bed before I climbed up onto the soft mattress and pulled the covers over my body. I inhaled deeply, the smell of Draco's cologne infusing the light coolness of the air.
Although it was months away I couldn't help but let my mind wonder to the day when I actually had the baby. What would actually happen? I knew it would hurt but I didn't know how much. My hand wandered down underneath the covers and stopped when it reached my stomach and this time I didn't pull away.
"I wonder what you'll be like."
Then Draco emerged from the bathroom and clambered into the other side of the bed. When neither of us said anything I just closed my eyes hoping that soon I would fall asleep.
A few minutes passed and we both just lay there in silence, the covers rising and falling in unison with our breathing. For some reason I felt rather strange I think for the first time since I had found out I had actually accepted that I was pregnant. This whole thing was beginning to feel so real.
My eyes opened when I suddenly felt the covers shift as Draco leaned over me, his eyes melting into mine
I was startled slightly when I felt Draco press his lips firmly against mine. I closed my eyes as his tongue glided over my bottom lip and I sighed breathlessly. I could feel the weight of his body suspended over mine, it felt right. I knew I was angry with him at the moment but all of the hatred was just dissolved in his tender caresses.
His tongue battled with mine passionately in a fight for dominance, a fight that he always won. Seconds later he pulled away and returned to his previous position on the bed, he didn't say a word and neither did I. I may not like it but it seemed that things were getting fairly serious.
A/N: Sorry for the wait I have been so busy I will try my hardest to update sooner. I hope you enjoyed this chapter I'm not really 100% happy with it so please leave a review and tell me what you think. Once again thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers and to everyone who has added this story to their alerts and favourites. Thank you for reading.